How To Find A Startup Cofounder (Step-By-Step)

Finding a startup cofounder can be a very favorable decision. A partner will add cool ideas to your business development plan. But finding a partner which you can trust and make businesses with is quite difficult. Let’s watch how to find a co-founder.

Sponsor Failory and get your business & product in front of +20,000 CEOs, startup founders, entrepreneurs, developers and marketers every month.

Investing your time into finding a startup cofounder could prove to be a very beneficial decision. A partner will be able to grow with you and add fresh ideas to your business plan. The benefits are clear, but where can you find a co-founder and who is the best person for such a role? A co-founder will be there to make some of the most important decisions by your side, so you need to be careful with the decision. Planning to use an investment platform like Cofunds? Do you have a sponsorship in mind? These are all decisions that a co-founder will have a say in.

‍

How to Find a Startup Cofounder

Do not choose just ‘anyone’

You really need to think about this decision when you decide to find a co-founder.

You also need to remember that you will be stuck with this partner for quite some time, so it can’t be someone that you can’t stand!

You need to write out a ‘job description’ per say for the ideal candidate.

Don’t go straight for best friend or family member. Whilst they could be an option, your main priority should be to find somebody who will help your business excel.

You may wonder, how can you have a healthy cofounder relationship? Well, you need to certainly get on well with your partner. You want to work with someone that you can tolerate, as you are going to work with this person for a long time. At the same time, you need to find balance. You want to make sure that you get on well with your partner, but you also need to have a strong professional relationship. It’s fine to go out for a drink, but if this means you’re missing out on working for days on end, issues will end. So the way to have a healthy cofounder relationship is to have a balanced relationship.

Search far and wide

A cofounder isn’t likely to be on your doorstep, so you may have to search a bit further in order to find what you’re looking for.

You won’t be the only one looking for a co-founder, as there are many startups looking for partners. It will not happen overnight, but putting time into something like this is greatly recommended. As mentioned earlier, rushing a decision like this is probably the worst thing you can do.

Go to conferences, talk to mutual friends. Do whatever you can possibly do to seek the best candidates. You may find a potential cofounder in a very unexpected place, it’s hard to predict these sort of things!

Make roles clear

When you find a startup partner, you need to make the roles clear. You need to make who the boss is very clear. If you do not make this clear from the get go, it could cause major issues in the future. It could even make your startup fail.

Listening to what your partner has to say is very important, even if you have the last say. They are your cofounder for a reason, so they should be able to put input into major decisions.

40 Hours of Digital Marketing for $49/Month

Reach +20,000 Startup Founders!

If you are looking to get your product in front of founders, CEOs, VPs, web and mobile developers, makers, consultants, marketers, bloggers, product managers, and many other thought leaders, then we can help you.

Would you like to receive our weekly newsletters featuring more startup help articles and interviews?

Yes, please!

No, thanks.

Thank you. Check your inbox :)

Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form. Try again.

Difference in qualities

You and your co-founder can’t be too similar. You want your partner to nearly be the opposite to you.

For example, if you’re an introvert, you should aim to find an extrovert. This adds versatility to your business. If your partner is better at presentations due to their extroversion, they would be able to take control of that. You may be better at planning and doing technical things.

The point is, you need a wide variety of qualities in your team. If there are more than just two of you, you can be even more versatile.

Vision

Whilst you and your co-founder should be fairly different, your visions should certainly be aligned in a business sense. If your visions differ, it will be hard to maintain your relationship in the long term. You want to work with someone who shares the same goals and passions as yourself.

This will make things so much easier for you as time passes.

Many entrepreneurs consider sharing the same vision as the main requisite for a co-founder. This video explains the reason for this:

From Wall Street to Silicon Valley...

Are you busy? Sure you are — that's why you need Morning Brew. It's a free daily email that gives a quick 5-minute rundown of the day's top business news. Join the 925,000+ people who start their day with Morning Brew!

Experience

It will be great if you find a partner who has some experience, but this won’t always be the case. You and your co-founder will be learning as you progress, and what you should be truly looking for is someone who is eager to learn.

If you have a bit of experience, you will be able to pass your skills onto your less experienced co-worker. You want somebody who has been proven to be a fast learner. You can learn this from their previous experience, or you may know this person personally.

Dedication

This is possibly the top trait you’re looking for. You want somebody who will dedicate a lot of their time to the business. You want someone who is going to show up on time, and is going to put in 100% at all times. If you are going to do this together, you both need to be on the same page.

You should ask multiple questions about the candidate’s previous work experience, and review their dedication to projects. If they are someone who stays somewhere for a few months and then looks elsewhere, they probably aren’t going to stick with you for long, so be aware!

‍

Once you find a co-founder, you will have to wisely take advantage of startup management tools, to avoid spending thousands of hours in communication. Apart from a co-founder, getting a startup advisor could be a really good option.

✉️ Subscribe to receive weekly startup related articles!

We’re always publishing new articles about startups. Sign up for our newsletter to keep updated on the latest additions. You can unsubscribe whenever you want!